Watch Description
What makes the Springfield 498 unique: Today, we’re happy to present you this breathtaking timepiece initially produced by the Illinois Watch Company — the Springfield 498. The pocket watch features an antique, rustic dial that reinforces the piece’s historicity. It boasts an aged, cream-colored background with gold-colored watch hands and numerals. We paired this piece of history with our robust and scratch-resistant Machined Titanium case, which draws further attention to the watch’s one-of-a-kind dial. We also paired it with a gold-plated crown that matches its numerals and hands. The back of the watch features an A. Lincoln-grade open-face movement that was originally adjusted to five positions, a going barrel, and a center bridge plate. The piece also boasts bronze-plated gears powered by 21 sumptuous jewels. To top it off, we matched the timepiece with our Mojave leather watch strap, making the antique piece look even more stunning. The Illinois Watch Company originally manufactured the Springfield 498’s pocket watch in Springfield, Illinois, in 1922 — the same year that Robert J. Flaherty created the groundbreaking documentary Nanook of the North. The film captures the daily life of an Inuit family in the Canadian Arctic. Although the film has received criticism for containing staged sequences, Nanook of the North is considered the first commercially successful feature-length documentary, and it was one of the first films that the Library of Congress preserved in the United States National Film Registry.Movement Manufacturer Information
The movement inside of this watch was made by Illinois Watch Company. We call this model "The Springfield" because the company was located in Springfield, Illinois.
Originally called the Springfield Watch Company, Illinois came to Springfield, Illinois in 1869 while the "modern" watch industry was fairly new but highly promising. City officials felt that the addition of industry to the city of Springfield would be excellent for the city's growth. However, after a series of failures and re-brandings, the company had a slow start until 1903 when they decided to manufacture high-quality watches only. Eventually making some of the most beautiful watches of their time, the company sold to Hamilton in 1927. Hamilton continued producing watches under the Illinois name for some time, but the original Springfield factory no longer stands.
Legal Disclaimer: All product and company names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within Vortic's products and services are the property of their respective intellectual property rights holders, if any. Those intellectual property rights holders, other than Vortic, LLC, are not affiliated with Vortic, LLC, our products, or our website. They do not sponsor or endorse our materials.
Watch Specifications
- Manufacturer: Vortic Watch Company
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Machined Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Gold Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Illinois Watch Company
- Serial Number: 4102173
- Manufacture Year: 1922
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 21 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
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The Movement
The engine that powers this watch is an antique American pocket watch movement. All the gears and springs that make it tell time are roughly 100 years old on average. We call these watches the American Artisan Series because we're celebrating the history and legacy of the artisan watchmakers who built this engineering marvel a century ago in the United States.
The Story
Today most pocket watches are scrapped for the gold or silver of the case (the outside of the antique timepiece), leaving the inside (what we call the "movement") as trash.
We take pride in upcycling these pieces of American history by salvaging as many as we can, then preserving them inside our wristwatches.
Our expert team of watchmakers restores the antique movement and then we manufacture a custom wristwatch case here in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Strap
We partnered with Worn & Wound to produce a custom set of straps for our American Artisan Series watches. We now have 15 different colors to choose from including our two Horween Shell Cordovan options. These straps are made in the USA and are based on the Windup Model 2 Premium strap that Worn and Wound offers.
